Sciatic Nerve Exam

Hey everyone! It is Matt Barber. NASM Certifiedcorrective exercise specialist. Today I am going to be talking about stretches for thelower extremities. Simply, these four stretches are going to show you how you can alleviatelower back pain if you do them on a regular basis. I know many of you out there have lowerback pain. Ok, so the first of the four stretches is a complex of muscles called the hip flexormuscles. They lie here in the front of the thigh up near the hip. One of the main hipflexor muscles, called the psoas, originates directly in the lumbar spine. So if that muscleis tight, and it is tight on most people, then that muscle puts a lot of stress on thelower back region. So, the way we stretch

the hip flexor is, and by the way before Ishow you that, all the stretches I am showing you are standing stretches. For those of youwho struggle getting up and down off the floor the beauty of these four stretches is youcan do them all in a standing position. I am going to show you in another tutorial thatis going to show you how to stretch those same four muscles but in a more of a lyingposition. So, this is good for those of you who again, struggle with getting up and downoff the floor. So the way we stretch the hip flexor is when we load the front leg likethis, I am basically in a lunge position. So I am putting my weight on the forward leg,my left heel stays down, my right heel comes

up off of the floor. It is very importantI am going to tilt my pelvis, called a posterior pelvic tilt. My pelvis is going from hereto here. So if I tilt the front of the pelvis, I am going to lengthen or stretch those hipflexor muscles right there. I am also squeezing my right glute which helps assist in the stretchas well. So if you notice I am next to a sturdy frame here. You can use a chair at home ifyou like whatever is sturdy to help you with your balance. Because sometimes balance canbe tricky on this stretch. This is very beneficial because again to stretch this muscle. I amholding it for thirty seconds on one side. Then thirty seconds on the other. Again, Iam loading the forward leg, I've got the

front of the pelvis out. I am squeezing theleft glute. My belly button is braced toward the spine. Again, I am holding on if I needto for balance. That is called the hip flexors. Thirty seconds to a minute on each side. Nextone is the hamstring complex. Hamstring muscles align right on the back of the thigh. Theway we are stretching that is we prop one foot up, I have one hand on top of the other,I have nice long posture, I am reaching forward so that I feel a stretch right through there.I do not need to round forward like this because it is putting me in a bad posture. I can stillget an effective stretch by staying right here. My shoulder blades are together, I havenice, tall posture and I am still getting

a good stretch back through here. You do notwant the bench to be too high because if it is too high you are more likely to lose yourbalance. Also if it is too high you might get some tension up here in your hips. Wekeep the bench fairly low for the purposes of this stretch. Thirty seconds on one side,then of course thirty seconds on the other side. And if you do struggle with balancea lot, you can hold on to something and stretch to your side like this so you can get a goodstretch. That is ok if you need to modify it. Thirty seconds to a minute on each side.Next one is a muscle called the piriformis is in your gluteal region. Any of you whohave had sciatic issues in the past, then

this muscle is likely tight. A lot of us havetight piriformis muscles. The way I am going to stretch this is in a seated position here.I'm going to place my right ankle across my left thigh like this, take my knee andpull it to the opposite shoulder like this. I am pulling this knee diagonally toward thisshoulder. Nice, tall posture and I am holding this for again, thirty seconds to a minute.I don't want my left foot to turn out of this this is a compensation. You want to keepyour left foot straight ahead as you can see. Again, nice tall posture. Thirty seconds here.And then I switch it again everything aligned, ankle, knee, hip in alignment. And then Igot thirty seconds on this side as well. I

Sciatic Nerve Pain During Pregnancy

I need your advice regarding sciatic nervepain during pregnancy. Pregnancy makes any sciatic nerve problemsyou have worse as it does carpal tunnel syndrome. I don't have carpal tunnel syndrome. The extra liters of fluids sloshing aroundyour body lead to extra pressure in the joints, whether your wrists or your ankles, whichcan put pressure on every nerve. That doesn't help me do much about it. Drink more water and fewer dehydrating drinkslike caffeinated soda or coffee so reduce the amount of water retention.

That sounds counter intuitive. Then there's the same advice they have forwhen your feet hurt due to fluid build up; put your feet up. Do you realize the sciatic nerve is in thebacké It usually takes the form of leg pain causedby the sciatic nerve getting pinched. Laying on your side to avoid putting pressureon it is one alternative. I don't think that's enough. If the sciatic pain is due to a herniateddisk, you have to meet with a regarding

your options, because the strain on the backis only going to grow along with the baby. I've never been diagnosed with a herniateddisk. There are some people who use a chiropractorfor treatment of sciatica. It is a little hard for me to fit on the tablewith this growing load up front. The same tables with holes on them that letpregnant women get a massage laying flat on their stomach are available to chiropractors;you simply need to find someone who has one of them. And the skills and expertise to not make thingsworse.

I've heard of acupuncture used as a sourceof pain relief. And it is one of the safer ones since youcan't take a lot of pain relievers when pregnant. Safe only if you consider getting needlessafe. We talked about how you can lay down to avoidputting more pressure on the nerve. You may also do it to rest the muscles thatmay be strained and mistaken for sciatica. I know what sciatica is; I've had flareups before. Then you may need to work on building coremuscles and flexibility of various joints.

This is exactly the wrong time to work ona strength building routine. Whether yoga or physical therapy, it couldreduce the muscle pain and spasms as well as the muscle relaxants you aren't supposedto take right now. There are other injections they can try. And how much of that isn't allowed becauseof the risks when you're pregnanté And you certainly don't want to try thesurgeries they offer to treat sciatica. I'm trying to avoid a Csection. Regular exercise to reduce the strain andpain are recommended, as long as it is the

right type. I've already been told not to turn and liftor twist because carrying the baby is workout enough on my lower back. Though if going for a walk makes the musclepains stronger and harder and they are already on a rhythm, you may be in labor. Then I have a short term answer and solutionto the pregnancy related sciatica.

What is Sciatica

Sciatica is a type of pain that stems fromthe irritation or inflammation of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve is the longest nervein the human body running from the spinal cord through the buttocks and down each legany right below the knee. Common symptoms are leg pain tingling andnumbness in the leg and feet, and pain throughout the lower back and buttocks. To diagnose a physician will conduct thoroughphysical exam of the patient to asses' tenderness over certain areas of the spine along withthe monitoring mobility of lower extremities as well as doing the neurological examination.There are several treatment options for sciatica.

Natural types of therapy like exercise, physicaltherapy, massage, a balanced nutritious diet and rest have found the aid in the relieffrom sciatica. For patients with more severe cases of sciaticainterventional types of treatment can be explored. These include epidural steroid injectionsas well as potential trigger point injections. Techniques like biofeedback and spinal cordstimulation have also been effective to decrease patient's symptoms.

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